Wheel of Fortune 2000

Another game show from my childhood, Wheel 2000 (a.k.a. Wheel of Fortune 2000) is a neat kid version of Wheel Of Fortune. Airing on CBS back when it had the Think CBS Kids block (which is a block CBS made in 1997 containing shows that contain the E/I label) as well as the Game Show Network, the show was hosted by David Sidoni, with a CGI character named Cyber Lucy (called just Lucy in the show) acting as the show's Vanna White. the game allows three kids to play.

Basically, to help fulfill the E/I guidelines the FCC enforces, Wheel 2000 has puzzles whose categories fall into educating (like Globetrotter, which has the puzzles are all famous places, and V.I.P.'s, which has puzzles involving famous people, notably those from history). After each puzzle is solved, Lucy would actually tell some facts connected to the puzzle's solution, or in some cases, and actor or athlete will explain it. (which makes up most of the show's educational content).

However, a lot of new stuff was added, and some stuff was renamed, like Bankrupt becoming The Creature (which summoned a creature from under the wheel that ate the points of the contestants who landed on it, utilizing the cheapest, yet scariest CGI known at the time) and Lose A Turn becoming Loser (which just makes a sound effect), the wheel for this also has some exclusive tiles. One of them is a little bonus game, which differs from each episode (like Feed The Raptor, where the player who landed on a space had to feed a raptor with meat, and Call Waiting, where the player has to answer phones and try to guess the famous historical person calling), which allows them to earn up to three letters which are determined by a Randomizer upon completing a certain goal or giving a correct answer, then he or she could use the earned letters in the puzzle or spin again. Prize Box is a neat little entry where if a player lands on it and guesses a letter that is in the puzzle, he or she wins the prize and keeps it regardless of the outcome. The prize is usually a small electronic thing like a Tiger Game.com (I guess Tiger was desperate to get rid of those in any way possible) and www.Wheel2000.com, a special space where upon a correct letter, a randomly chosen viewer who registered on said website would win a Wheel 2000 T-shirt and hat. The bonus round only has two prizes, with the successful puzzle solve winning either a whole week (five days) of limo rides to school or a new computer, and anyone who solves a puzzle actually wins a prize.

As a result of Think CBS Kids not doing well in ratings, this show sadly only lasted one season with 24 episodes. It also doesn't help that the kids who got to be on the show would not be allowed to play Wheel Of Fortune when they got old enough to. This is an underrated kids version of a long-running game show, and I bet a reboot with better prizes and more of a budget would be a welcome return.

Wheel of fortune is everyone's game. and if it's everyone's game, then kids shouldn't be just getting a Gameboy or a Walkman as a prize. that's weak. they should be earning the same prize as everyone else. they should have gotten a shot at $25,000 or something like that. and if my memory serves, no one earned money, so what was the point of playing?

Now this game was played exactly like the original wheel of fortune, but unfortunately (no pun intended) there was a few differences. For example, bankrupt and lose-a-turn were called "the creature" (A weird pair of eyes would appear from under the wheel and eat up all your points.) and "loser". And contestants got to choose categories, plus at the end of every puzzle, that computerized chick, Lucy, would describe what the puzzle was. for example, one puzzle was semi-colon, and Lucy got to describe what a semi-colon was. you can watch the footage at "gscentral.com" of that puzzle being solved.

it was worth the watch, a good idea, but no one liked it since it was too cheap.

6/10